Introducing the Boring Sponge

Introducing the Boring Sponge JOSEPHL. PARKHURST,JR. Colonia, New Jersey If you enjoy picking up shells from the tidal There are beaches near New York where a debris of the seashore you have probably single species like Microciona prolifera, the red wondered about the ones perforated with little sponge, is the most conspicuous object along holes. The answer to this question might be tide lines. You might see an outstanding speci- found at the market when they are shucking men of Chalina oculata, a branching type, on a box of oysters. Some of these may be honey- a New England wharf when it is brought in combed in the same way and have a bright and set out by fishermen. Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/22/3/166/16456/4439291.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 yellow color where the shells are cracked. With the exception of bath sponges the av- This is the trademark of an amazing sponge, erage person pays little attention to this inter- with the name Cliona celata, or C. sulfurea. esting part of the animal kingdom. The Cliona starts its growth in the warmer sponges have been hard to pin down, with months of the year, boring into the shells of such a variety of form and size, and you oysters and clams, and making a network of would have to be a specialist to understand tunnels. After consuming the shell the sponge them. Possibly these few lines have been help- grows over it, forming a cheese-like yellow ful to the beginner, or at least suggest a fasci- mass with regular spots. This massive growth nating subject. occurs in the winter, and specimens can be [Editor's Note: Cover picture accompanies this several feet long and very heavy. article.] Sponges are a singular group of aquatic animal life, confused for a long time with vege- Conservation Books tation, and live by merely filtering tiny food particles from the water. On the inside lining The following books are availablefrom the there are specialized cells equipped with hairs InterstatePrinters & Publishers,Inc., Jackson to stir up a current of sea water. First the at VanBuren, Danville, Illinois, at 10% discount for and discount water is drawn through the porous surface and single copies 20% for tw\%oor more copies: then expelled through a larger or opening, The ConservationHandbook, The National mouth. The round holes in the conspicuous Association of Biology Teachers-$4.50 with these mouths. oyster shell correspond Approved Practices in Soil Conservation, Extensive colonies of Cliona on oyster beds Albert B. Foster-$2.50 of the Atlantic coast cause a considerable an- Our NaturalResources, P. E. McNall-$3.50 noyance for oystermen. Boring sponges are Materials for Teaching Conservation anid probably best known in this connection, as Resource-Use, The National Association of fouling agents, smothering oysters, and other Biology Teachers-350 forms of anchored life. This habit of boring in Our Daily Bread, Susan Myrick-$2.04 sponges, along with certain worms and mol- This Is Our Soil, Ernest D. Walker and lusks, aids in the disintegration of shell heaps Albert B. Foster-$.50 on the bottom. Soil ConservationWorkbook-$.75 One noticeable thing about sponges is their SupplementalIrrigation for Eastern United lack of individuality. Sponges of the same States, Harry Rubey-$3.00 species appear as cake-like crusts near the CGettingStarted in IrrigationFarming, Roy shore and branch out in deeper water. Two W. Dugger-$1.2 5 of them growing next to each other may fuse Manual for Outdoor Laboratories,Richard into one large mass. If one is cut up new speci- L. Weaver-$1.2 5 mens will grow from each of the pieces. Our Soils and Their Management,Roy L. Some of the other northern sponges are fre- Donahue-$ 3.75 quently seen in the tide wrack of bavs and Science: Suggestions for Teaching, Phila- coves, and you may find undamaged young delphia Suburban School Study Council specimens, or pieces large enough to identifv. Group "C"-$2.50 166 .

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